(Illustration by Chris McFann)

There are places where the border between realities is thin, places where the energies of the inner planes can easily pour through: places like volcanoes and the Blood Caves.

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The Thing That Cuts

The thinning of the veil trap and the healer’s touch trap need something, someone, to activate their effects. Channor the Cruel, Champion of Hunger, can easily fulfill that need.

Channor the Cruel (CR 5)

XP 2400
Ghoul antipaladin 4
CE Medium undead
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +12
Aura cowardice (10 ft.) …

(Illustration by Chris McFann)

There are places where the border between realities is thin, places where the energies of the inner planes can easily pour through: places like volcanoes and the Blood Caves.

The Blood Caves

A gateway between the surface and the night below, the Blood Caves are made more dangerous due to the negative energy that suffuses the caves, an energy that gives the caves their name. While within, bound wounds start to haemorrhage once more, and healing magic sometimes fails to work. Blood flows easily in these caves.

Thinning of the Veil Trap (CR 2)

Type magic; Perception DC 25; Disable Device DC 25
Trigger touch; Reset automatic …

(Illustration by Chris McFann)

“He would not fail.” With a last glance toward the gathered clan, Bronn strode into the cave that held his last test, the test that would make him a warrior. “He would not fail.” The thought distracted him enough that the apparition startled him as it came into being. Scolding himself, Bronn assumed a low guard and saw that he faced his own reflection. His reflection had a determined look before suddenly jerking wildly: Bronn saw himself pierced by a spear. Stepping back, Bronn warily watched the apparition fade.

Bronn pressed on. The cavern widened and he saw a carefully constructed corridor. Ancient glyphs warned against pressing on. “I will not fail,” Bronn boldly strode down the corridor. The spear caught him high in the chest. Bronn was dead before he reached the ground…

Traps. Devices devious and deadly. Understood to be a crypt’s most treacherous wards. Many so ghastly they become emblematic of a particular tomb’s history and character.

What the Dust Hides

In the spirit of preserving the tomb’s reputation as a place of unparalleled danger, this article series offers 10 macabre new traps for use in tomb adventures at any tier of play. Watch out!

[previously]

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The dancing grotesques shown in this mural evoke haunting visions of your own demise…

For generations, the tomb has endured as the most iconic and menacing of adventure sites. Countless campaigns have been carried out in search of relics and lore secreted away, and few creatures inspire such terror as the undead, which wait forever in a disquieting stillness and silence. However, the rumors spread by adroit explorers and loquacious bards warn of threats more perilous than the touch of a wight or the stench of a ghoul.

Traps. Devices devious and deadly. Understood to be a crypt’s most treacherous wards. Many so ghastly they become emblematic of a particular tomb’s history and character.

In the spirit of preserving the tomb’s reputation as a place of unparalleled danger, this article series offers 10 macabre new traps for use in tomb adventures at any tier of play. The first is just behind the jump!